There is nothing more beautiful as getting appreciation for your work in the early morning. It always makes your day beautiful. Appreciation is the key that actually keeps an artist alive, keeps us blooming by giving us the much-needed motivation to do something better and better. Therefore I feel this is the most important thing for an artist.

This letter was from one of the brides that I did photography for, in the year of 2014. After reading it, I felt really happy because I realized that somehow my motive of that shoot was completed.

Being always busy with fashion shoots, I do not take much wedding assignments throughout the year. But when I do my sole aim of the shoot is to spread happiness with the pictures.

Thank you so much, we really enjoyed covering your wedding. It was just like we were attending a friend’s wedding. I am sure these pictures are going to stay with you forever.

I couldn’t resist from sharing this with you all.

“ Hi Neeraj,

Writing to you after a long time. Hope you are good and your team is having some amazing shoot this time of the month. I thought of writing a testimonial but that will not suffice whatever I wanted to write down as that again had to be brief. I thought of writing you a letter and share my feelings before our pre wedding shoot and wedding.

10 months back before our Wedding Day, I was sitting in front of my computer scanning down every possible name in the world of wedding and candid wedding photography. We were having the most amazing time of our life and I wanted to cover each emotion of love, pain, fun etc. with utmost care and beauty for the rest of our life. I was going crazy searching for a candid photographer. Some names that I found had very high rates and there were few whose work I didn’t like, some seemed very unprofessional to talk to and with rest we could not connect much and share our feelings etc. It was just not working out. Everyday Abhishek and I used to sit, call each photographer, talk to them and then it was like “Naahhh”. The Wedding day was coming close by and I was thinking about our pre-wedding theme shoot and many more. I was growing nervous with each passing day, as time was less, and it was just 25 days left for wedding and there was no sign of finalizing a photographer yet. Of course the kind we wanted. We were on the verge of finalizing one photographer with little heart, and then suddenly that morning I came across your page on Facebook. We liked the fashion portraits you had captured. It was brilliant, but a doubt came across my mind “Will this guy be able to cover up the pre-wedding shoot and wedding well?’’ He seems to be more into fashion photography and I couldn’t find much of your wedding work on Facebook, except a few which we both really liked. The kind of photographer we were looking for was found, but the doubt still lingered.

With our instinct giving a nod we decided to finalize you but voila the dates, yes the dates had to be fixed and more important was your availability on that day. Being a wedding season, photographers were booked in advance since months back. With little hope, we had a talk with Dheeraj Sharma and found him really professional and nice and yes the dates that we wanted were available. Oh, I was so happy. Then we had a little chat with you. I remember telling Abhishek, this guy Neeraj, is so down to earth. He seems so familiar. We could connect to you guys well. With all yes, no’s, the dates were finally fixed. But for some reasons we had to cancel, reschedule the dates, place, time and I remember you guys managed it so well without any complain. Thanks for understanding us.

8th February 2014. There it was. Finally the pre-wedding shoot day arrived and we were in Connaught place, Delhi. Meeting you guys, sharing our story with you over a cup of coffee was really amazing. You seemed more of a friend rather than a typical professional photographer. With just one day I had so much of themes coming across my mind. Well thanks to you, Dheeraj and Dhirendre Khandelwal who took the headache. You guys managed it so well, and more than that took care of us. Just a mere thanks is a small word in front of that.

We came back after the shoot and from day one I was waiting for the photographs. I was so anxious. I remember bugging you all the time. And then there it was. Pictures arrived after a long wait of two weeks and I really cannot write the emotions in words when I saw those photographs for the first time. Just to sum up in one line. “You made our day”. Wow! They were so beautiful, amazingly captured. I felt like I was seeing some Bollywood posters, actually a lot better than them. The moment I uploaded on Facebook aha, compliments poured in. My friends were going gaga asking me who is the photographer? And then there was the wedding and the photos, the albums you sent and the rest they say is history.

You have given us beautiful memories, Neeraj. Those pictures are priceless. You gave us our own 2 States movie poster. A thanks is all I can say. Those amazing moments and days will never come back, but yes the pictures will remind me each and every moment back then.

And yes, I would love a post wedding session soon and old couple shoot some 25 years down the line. Do drop by for a get together and cup of coffee if you come across my place sometime. We would love to meet you guys.